Talk:King Zhou of Shang

Semi-mythological?
This article apparently incorporates too much from a later work of historical/mythological fiction, the Fengshen Yanyi, which dates from the Ming dynasty (cf. the mention of the torture devices etc.)! This may be quite misleading for the uninitiated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.56.187.177 (talk) 07:36, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Pejorative Name?
I am slightly perplexed as to why Zhou (紂) is considered pejorative, since I can find no meaning more sinister than "saddle strap". Doesn't seem very offensive to me. Anybody? ► Philg88 ◄ star.png 08:51, 29 May 2012 (UTC)


 * According to Shuowen Jiezi: "残忍捐义曰纣". Zhou basically means cruel.  But some historians argue that Zhou was simply a homophone of the king's personal name Shou. -Zanhe (talk) 06:04, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Neutrality?
This article is about as neutral in tone as a tabloid newspaper; it's full of tautologies and weasel-words! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.31.62.23 (talk) 17:57, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes but one cannot expect much detail nor neutrality from a figure more than 3000 years old now, can we? Augend  (drop a line) 17:18, 2 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Of course you can. The period sources will be biased but this isn't Wikisource. We should reflect the present state of modern scholarship, including appropriate framing and context for bias in historical sources and removal or dismissal of entirely fictional ones. — Llywelyn II   23:29, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

Recommendation: A rewrite of the article by adapting the Chinese version.
Compared to the Chinese version, the English version is lacking in accuracy and neutrality. In the Chinese version, King Zhou's legacy is discussed in great detail compared to the section on his life, as a huge deal of what the English version put in the same section is muddled with, to put it simply, generations of propaganda that are not only unverifiable but also evidently contentious in modern time.

While the Chinese version of the article still has imperfections, I do believe that it is leagues better than the English version as it is now, and should still at least be a direction to go for. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:B011:4004:1A56:A461:A13B:C640:31AD (talk) 15:06, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Sources for future article expansion
regarding the state of the late Shang as it was overtaken by the Zhou. — Llywelyn II   23:26, 28 August 2023 (UTC)